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HUGH GRAHAM 



MEMOIRS OF THE 

GRAHAM FAMILY 



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By 
ANNIE KENDRICK WALKER 



II lust ra ted 



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Tobias A. Wright, Publisher 

150 Bleecker Street 

New York 



1909 



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• . • 




MR-S. FRANCIS FWTTrRSON 
SisftT of Hiiijh C^raham 



Ldition of One Hundred Copies 
of which this is 



Children of 
Hugh and Catherine (Nenny) Graham 

I. SARAH GRAHAM BLACKBURN 

II. MARGARET GRAHAM NEIL 

III. MARY GRAHAM KYLE 

IV. CORNELIA GRAHAM PATTERSON 

V. LOUISE GRAHAM ROGAN 
VI. LUCY GRAHAM WILLIAMS 

VII. ELLEN GRAHAM PATTON 

VIII. THOMAS GRAHAM 



GENERAL OUTLINE. 

I. First Generation — 

HUGH GRAHAM. 

Family History. 
Coming to America. 
Description of "Castle Rock." 
Innovations Introduced. 

II. Second Generation — 

LUCY GRAHAM WILLIAMS. 

Turkey. 

Egypt. 

Schloss Miramar. 

London. 

CORNELIA GRAHAM PATTERSON. 

Patterson Manuscripts. 
Reminiscences of General Robert 

Patterson. 
Philadelphia Society. 

LOUISE GRAHAM ROGAN. 

Hayslope. 

History. 

Gardens. 

III. Third Generation — 

BARONESS KAVANAUGH-BALLYANE 

(Austria). 

PRINCESS DE LIGUORI de PDESICCI 
(Italy). 

IV. Collateral Branches. 



MEMOIRS OF 



THL GRAHAM FAMILY 




OME of us cannot hope to escape 
from our ancestors. I saw a 
woman one evenmg at the French 
opera in New Orleans who was a 
perfect Diana of Poitiers and who doubtless 
lived in a dream Chenonceaux. Certam 
localities are indelibly stamped with an ob- 
vious foreign influence. In others, where it 
may once have expressed itself, it is necessary 
to trace it by different paths, sometimes for- 
gotten ones. But the obvious foreign influ- 
ence that came in with the great old families 
cannot be overlooked. Instead of seeking 
it in pronounced types, or racial characteris- 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

tics, it IS more interesting to trace it in memoirs 
and old manuscripts of an intimate character. 
It cannot be denied that we owe substantial 
acknowledgments to what has been called 
the "secret memoirs" which proved so pi- 
quant an entertainment for our grandsires 
and dames. 

Memoirs now in the possession of the de- 
scendants of Hugh Graham, the Irish exile 
and Tennessee pioneer, embrace the latter 
part of the Eighteenth century and the first 
of the Nineteenth. They form a most enter- 
taining description of certain old houses and 
gardens that bloomed in the American wil- 
derness. These memoirs have also an inter- 
national interest of a political and social 
nature. Although social life was modelled 
upon Europe there was always the tendency 
for individual expression on the part of those 
not wholly affected by the imitations of the 
day. The history of some of these old fam- 
ilies is, in consequence, impregnated with a 
strong individuality that made itself felt n\ 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

the Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries. 
These memoirs also reveal the elegancies of 
a period that will never be reproduced. 

The Graham records go back to the 
Crusades. It is something to have followed 
Richard Coeur de Lion. And who can re- 
sist a thrill of proud delight for the remem- 
bered glories of an exile, or for the exquisite 
sufferings of a dear ancestor, who, like 
Cyrano, broadly swept the azure threshold 
with his very clean plume. Some of the 
ancient Irish families faced as beautiful a 
death in the rebellion of *' '98'' against 
England. It was death or banishment. And 
in the history of the Irish exiles who came to 
America may be traced the beginning of 
certain notable families. 

One of the most remarkable of the young 
exiles was Hugh Graham. He was born 
in Strabam, County Tyrone, Ireland, and 
came to Tennessee at the age of fourteen. 
The Graham estates in Ireland had been 
confiscated and the leaders in the rebellion 




CATHLRINE. NLNNY GRAHAM 
Wife of Hugh Graham 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

were condemned to death. Through the 
united efforts of a few Grahams who re- 
mained loyal, and the powerful influence of 
the Duke of Abercorn, the death sentence 
was changed to banishment. 

The Graham exiles settled in an American 
wilderness. The young Hugh Graham went 
into business with his brother William Gra- 
ham and with Patrick Nenny, of Bent 
Creek, Tenn., and the owner of large landed 
estates. In early life Hugh Graham married 
Catherine Nenny, of whose beauty and ac- 
complishments I shall speak later. From 
this union is woven a story that will always 
be interesting to those whose spirit is proper- 
ly subservient to the old traditions that early 
flourished on American soil. From this 
union was established an American line of 
succession to the throne of Sicily. 

In the old town of Tazewell, founded 
by the exiles, Hugh Graham, with the beau- 
tiful Mrs. Graham presiding over **Castle 
Rock", lived like a feudal lord, with 

8 




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Memoirs of the Graham Family 

England still the glass of fashion. "Castle 
Rock" with its out-lying houses and slave 
quarters, formed a village in itself, w^hile the 
flower gardens and groves in front, and sunk- 
en gardens in the rear for vegetables and 
fruits, made it a place of beauty. A stone 
wall enclosed the gardens. Beyond the wall 
was a wide stone pavement, with a double 
row of blossoming locust trees which made 
an attractive promenade for the master of 
the house. "Castle Rock" was the scene of 
splendid hospitality, guest succeeding guest, 
all being as welcome as "flowers in May", 
as the genial host expressed it. 

Hugh Graham was never better pleased 
than when at the foot of a well-laden table 
he dispensed gracious hospitality to relatives, 
friends and casual guests. Nor was he less 
thoughtful in providing pleasures for his fam- 
ily. He made life delightful to his children, 
providing both indoor and outdoor games. 
To his young children he gave books, and 
to each a little flower garden, and a big 

9 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

house with a second story, in which to play 
dolls, to read and to give tea parties in whil- 
ing away the summer days. In winter they 
had big rooms with great fire places. They 
had games, maps, globes, microscopes and a 
telescope and orrery. In the grove near the 
house were swings and joggling boards and 
flying horses. In the fruit gardens were low 
swinging muscadine vines that the children 
might gather their own supply, or like Pope 
at Strawberry Hill, gather the fruit in their 
mouths. 

It was in his books that the Irish exile 
found his greatest delight. Reading with him 
was not a pastime, but a passion. From his 
earliest childhood he collected books and his 
library was the largest in the south. Books 
were sent him regularly from Europe as well 
as from the American publishers and many 
of his rare first editions are now worth their 
weight in gold. Books with his name are 
still found in East Tennessee, and a collector 

10 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

discovered some of his first editions in 
Leary's old book store in Philadelphia. 

As a subscriber to magazines and news- 
papers he was equally remarkable. A partial 
list included the North British Review, 
Edinburgh Review, Blackwoods, Littell's 
Living Age, Bentley's Miscellany, London 
Art Journal, Godey's Lady's Book, Sar- 
tain's Magazine, Graham's Magazine, Glea- 
son's Pictorial, Harper's Magazine, Mis- 
sionary Magazine, Calvinistic Magazine, 
Peter Parley's Magazine, Lady's Maga- 
zine, The Rosebud and Merry's Museum. 
Among the newspapers were the Boston 
Recorder, Youth's Companion, Youth's 
Medallion, Youth's Cabinet, The Albion, 
The New York Tribune, New York Ob- 
server, Philadelphia Times, Baltimore Sun, 
Washington Intelligence, Richmond Dis- 
patch, Nashville American, Charleston 
Courier, Augusta Chronicle, Savannah 
News, Mobile Register, Memphis Appeal, 
Louisville Courier and the Washington Post. 

11 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

In one comer of his sitting room was a 
large rosewood bookcase which was kept 
filled with Bibles. They were distributed 
among the poor. But the tastes of the young 
exile were expressed in other ways besides 
his love of books. His visits to Richmond, 
to Baltimore and to Boston meant the in- 
troduction into East Tennessee of several 
innovations. 

He brought the first grand square piano, 
paying one thousand dollars for it in Boston, 
and hauling this rosewood Chickering in a 
wagon to Tazewell. He also introduced 
the first zinc-lined bath tub, which created 
intense excitement, as the natives thought it 
was a new style in coffins. Four pronged 
forks, instead of the customary three prong- 
ed, was another innovation, as was the first 
sewing machine and cooking stove, the first 
reaping and mowing machine and the first 
blooded stock. 

Hugh Graham was also a great flower 
lover. He always brought home some new 

12 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

bulb, some rare flowering shrub for his gar- 
dens famed far and wide for their extent 
and beauty, and which were a rephca of the 
fi^ardens of the Duke of Abercorn, whose 
son, the young marquis, and Hugh Graham 
had the same tutor, studied the same lessons 
and received the same punishments. In his 
journeys he carried a sword cane, the body 
of the cane being a hollow tube in which the 
sword was inserted. In case of attack it 
could be speedily drawn and used in defense 
by its wearer. They were much in use by 
the gentlemen of that day. Another cane 
which he prized very highly was given him 
by President Jackson. It was made from 
a hickory tree on the Hermitage grounds. 
The knobs were covered with silver upon 
which were engraved the names of General 
Jackson's battles. 

The Graham families lived an ideal life 
at Tazewell, reproducing as far as possible 
the old life in Ireland. There in the wilder- 
ness they formed a nucleus of wealth and 

13 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

refinement. They built churches and found- 
ed schools. On Sundays the Irish brothers 
and sisters with their wives and husbands 
gathered about the sacramental table and 
partook of the "Lord's Supper." On week 
days they would assemble at each other's 
houses for gay supper parties. Before sup- 
per was served they would drink sangaru, 
the brothers sang Irish songs, the sisters knit- 
ted, the children danced. When the parting 
goodnights were said, they were always fol- 
lowed by "I wish you well" from each one. 

Hugh Graham was a secessionist. His 
wife and daughter, visiting Philadelphia at 
the beginning of the war, were taken down 
to the wharf to see a whale in the Delaware. 
The whale had a United States flag in its 
mouth, and as soon as the ladies beheld that 
they turned their backs on both whale and 
flag. 

During the battle of Tazewell Hugh Gra- 
ham surveyed the fight from a third-story 
window, while his family, neighbors and 

14 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

slaves took refuge in the cellar from the 
flying bullets and bursting shells. That night 
he gave the shelter of his barn to Colonel 
Ashby's men. Upon openmg the barn door 
the following morning he was surprised to be 
greeted by federals, who plundered "Castle 
Rock'* and hunted for concealed rebels. The 
smoke of battle had hardly cleared away 
when the master of *'Castle Rock" was seiz- 
ed with a fatal illness. Surrounded by 
family and friends he passed away in the 
spring of 1865. While the war had devas- 
tated his domains he yet left a large estate at 
Tazewell and many out-lying plantations. 
Very methodical in his business habits, he 
left receipts to show all business transactions 
and moneys paid from fourteen years of age 
to the limit of his life — eighty-four. He had 
never known a day's illness, nor employed a 
physician. His was the first death at "Castle 
Rock" during an occupancy of nearly half a 
century. 

Owing to the sorrowful fortunes of war, 

15 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

his coffin was made by one of his slaves from 
the walnut pew where he had so long wor- 
shipped God. He, whose wealth was a 
proverb in that section, was taken to his last 
resting place by one of the freed slaves of 
his brother. The aged exile was laid to rest 
in the old Irish graveyard while the thunder 
of the federal cannon at Cumberland Gap 
sounded a forewarning of the doom of the 
Lost Cause which he loved so well. 

The traditions which have been handed 
down of the graces and beauty of Mrs. 
Hugh Graham show that she must have been 
a most admirable mistress of "Castle Rock." 
Her great beauty was an inheritance from 
her mother, Lucy Bramlette, of Bedford 
County, Virginia, whose father, a Revolu- 
tionary soldier, went with Daniel Boone to 
Kentucky, entered land there and was short- 
ly afterward murdered. It was said that he 
was shot while hunting in the forest, being 
mistaken for an Indian, but these memoirs 
insist that he was killed in order to get pos- 

16 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

session of his land. With two of his com- 
rades he was buried at Cumberland Gap, 
and years afterward a huge stone rolled 
down the mountam and rested on this triple 
grave, markmg that and also the boundary 
Ime where Kentucky, Tennessee and Virgin- 
ia come together. Mrs. Graham was a noted 
housekeeper and lover of china. When she 
gave dinner parties there was always a 
spirited discussion as to which set of china to 
use, the blue set with the landing of La- 
Fayette, or the Valentine pink one, or the 
brown "Warwick Castle," or the "willow 
ware" set. With amusing inconsistency 
Mrs. Graham advocated the abolition of 
slavery, and was never known to wait on 
herself in the course of a long life. Even 
when sitting in her room, knitting or reading, 
a slave stood at her back. After "freedom" 
came the old slaves clung to their beloved 
mistress. 

In her old age Mrs. Graham liked to re- 
call the visits of her girlhood to X^irginia 

17 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

where she was taken at the age of twelve to 
be educated, there being too many Indian 
wigwams in the neighborhood of her father's 
estate for schools to be thought of. She 
visited Monticello, then in course of erection, 
and often spoke of the subterranean passage 
by which Jefferson could escape in the event 
of an attack. 

No further extracts from these private 
memoirs can be made without introducing the 
famous Lucy Graham, a daughter of Hugh 
and Catherine and the eldest of several 
beautiful sisters. By her marriage to James 
Williams of Nashville, who was Minister to 
Turkey under President Buchanan, she was 
accorded distinguished honors at European 
courts. She was presented at the court of 
Louis Napoleon by the American minister 
to France, who afterward, with Slidell, pre- 
sented the claims of the southern confeder- 
acy to the same court for recognition. A 
letter describes how the ladies had to kneel 

18 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

where she was taken at the age of twelve to 
be educated, there being too many Indian 
wigwams in the neighborhood of her father's 
estate for schools to be thought of. She 
visited Monticello, then in course of erection, 
and often spoke of the subterranean passage 
by which Jefferson could escape m the event 
of an attack. 

No further extracts from these private 
memoirs can be made without mtroducing the 
famous Lucy Graham, a daughter of Hugh 
and Catherine and the eldest of several 
beautiful sisters. By her marriage to James 
Williams of Nashville, who was Minister to 
Turkey under President Buchanan, she was 
accorded distinguished honors at European 
courts. She was presented at the court of 
Louis Napoleon by the American minister 
to France, who afterward, with Slidell, pre- 
sented the claims of the southern confeder- 
acy to the same court for recognition. A 
letter describes how the ladies had to kneel 

18 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

on the front seats of the carriage to give 
room to their voluminous skirts. 

In Constantinople the American embassy 
became famous for its southern hospitahty. 
Mr. Williams was a man of cultured tastes, 
and Mrs. Williams had been admirably 
trained for her position by her life at "Castle 
Rock," where her father had insisted upon 
European etiquette and training for his 
daughters. 

The years abroad were delightful. In the 
voyage of the Nile, into lower Egypt, Mr. 
and Mrs. Williams were accompanied by 
Lord Dufferin and his mother. Lady Duffer- 
in, a daughter of the famous English actor, 
Richard Bnnsley Sheridan, and sister of the 
Hon. Caroline Norton. They were also ac- 
companied by a young French nobleman, 
who took with him a corps of photographers, 
whose pictures of pyramids, temples and ob- 
jects of interest were bound in four volumes. 
One of these volumes was presented to the 
Empress Eugenie, another volume to the 

19 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

Empress of Austria, a third volume to Mrs. 
Williams, the young nobleman keeping the 
fourth for his chateau treasures. 

Lady Dufferin was very gifted, and 
among Mrs. Williams' valued possessions 
was a portrait of herself and two daughters, 
painted by Lady Dufferin, who accompani- 
ed the gift with charming verses. Another 
member of the party was Frederika Bremer, 
the Swedish novelist. Lord Bulwer and Sir 
Richard Jackson traveled with Mr. and 
Mrs. Williams through Turkey. More ex- 
alted still were Maxmilian and Carlotta 
whom they visited at Schloss Miramar, 
Maxmilian's beautiful palace at the head of 
the Adriatic. There, while the ladies gazed 
entranced upon Carlotta's art treasures, 
Maxmilian and Mr. Williams paced back 
and forth in that famous garden, talking of 
Mexico, Mr. Williams vainly endeavoring 
to dissuade Maxmilian from that ill-fated 
expedition, he offering Mr. Williams many 
inducements to accompany him. 

20 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

During Mr. Williams* residence in Lon- 
don, no remittances came from the south at 
its war period, and he supported his family 
by writing for the London Times, and by 
publishing two books on slavery and other 
American questions. He also edited a paper 
in the interest of the confederacy and it was 
said that he was assisted in that enterprise 
by Henry Watterson. Mr. Williams died 
in Gratz, Austria. A few years later, while 
on a visit to America, Mrs. Williams passed 
away. Few women of that day were more 
celebrated. Her beauty and wonderful 
charm of manner made her a favorite at 
court. She was extensively entertained on 
the continent as well as in England. These 
memoirs allude to frequent visits to **Castle 
Clanebry," Lady Dufferin's country seat. 

But while one of the Graham women was 
gracing European courts, the social position 
of the younger sisters of Mrs. Williams had 
placed them as mistresses of historic houses. 
By the marriage of Cornelia Graham to 

21 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

William Patterson of Philadelphia, an his- 
torical alliance was formed. The young 
Mrs. Patterson was immediately called upon 
to assist in maintaining the glories of the old 
Patterson mansion, and this brings us to the 
interesting memoirs of that time. 

The Patterson manuscripts are written in 
a delightfully reminiscent vein. It is doubt- 
ful if any private memoirs recall with greater 
charm the social life of Philadelphia in the 
first half of the nineteenth century and also 
that period when the youthful Mrs. Patter- 
son graced society. 

General Robert Patterson, father of Wil- 
liam Houston Patterson, was one of the 
military idols of that day. He bore a strik- 
ing resemblance to the Duke of Wellington 
and his appearance on the streets of Phila- 
delphia inspired to the day of his death the 
expressive salutes of soldiers who had fought 
with him in the Confederate war, in the 
Mexican and in the war of 1812. About the 

22 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

General and his fine old mansion cluster his- 
torical memories. 

Born in 1 792 in Strabane, Country Ty- 
rone, Ireland, Robert Patterson shared the 
fate of his father, Francis Patterson, exiled 
by the British government for his loyalty to 
Ireland. The family came to America, and 
Robert Patterson, then fifteen years of age, 
began life m the countmg room of a merchant 
in the East India trade. It is interesting to 
follow the fortunes of the two youthful 
exiles, whose families were banished for the 
same cause. Hugh Graham, at the age of 
fourteen, started upon a career in the Amer- 
ican Wilderness : his kinsman, Robert Patter- 
son, but fifteen years old, taking up his life 
in the New World. Coincident as were the 
fortunes of these two families the ties were 
more closely cemented by this marriage of 
Cornelia Graham to William Patterson. 

Robert Patterson was not only a dis- 
tinguished soldier, but one of the most re- 
markable financiers in the early history of 

23 



I Memoirs of the Graham Family 

t 

' this country. As an organizer of railroads 
■ and steamship hnes between southern ports 
' and Europe his work has aheady been re- 
corded. He was largely interested in the 
sugar industry of Louisiana and in the cotton 
manufacturies. In 1835, according to a 
diary now in the possession of his grand- 
daughter, Mrs. Lindsay Patterson, General 
Patterson made a journey from Philadelphia 
to the upper Mississippi, his route being 
through Virginia and following the old 
Wilderness Road through East Tennessee 
which went through Cumberland Gap. His 
observations of the country and his descrip- 
tions of incidents of that memorable trip fill 
two volumes, which are in the private collec- 
tion of his family. 

Soon after his soldierly achievements had 
won him the gratitude of the republic Gen- 
eral Patterson became known as a princely 
entertainer. He was an intimate friend of 
all of the presidents of the United States, 
beginning with Jefferson and on through his 

24 






Memoirs of the Graham Family 



long career. At his old mansion the most 
distinguished Americans as well as guests 
from Europe were entertained with a sump- 
tuousness not surpassed in that day. It was 
said that more than one thousand dinners 
and receptions were given by this bountiful 
entertainer. 

It was at the Patterson mansion that the 
Aztec Club was founded. There, too, gath- 
ered many a veteran of the war of 1812, 
together with young officers from West 
Point. Indeed the "Military Parties" giv- 
en by General Patterson were attended by 
distinguished soldiers from all sections of the 
country and abroad. In the list of names 
that have been preserved in connection with 
the guest chambers of the mansion is seen 
that of Commodore Jesse D. Elliott, John 
Mercer Brooke, who planned the Merrimac, 
for the Confederacy, Adjutant-General 
Seth Williams, Mrs. Henry R. Schoolcraft, 
the Chippewa wife of the Mississippi River 
explorer. General Fitzjohn Porter, Major 

25 



p 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

Croghan of Sandusky fame, General Scott, 
General Sir Charles Wyndham, the hero of 
the Crimean, Captam Francis Marryatt. In 
the long list showmg the varied character of 
the company entertained at some of the not- 
ed dinners and receptions are the names of 
General Grant, General George A. H. 
Blake, General Z. B. Town, General Bab- 
cock, General Barry, General Wilcox, Sur- 
geon General John M. Cuyler, and Major- 
General Alexander, while still other dis- 
tinguished guests were La Fayette, the Duke 
of Saxe-Weimar, Joseph Bonaparte, Charles 
Dickens, Thomas H. Benton, du Chaillu, 
Webster, Clay, Lord Houghton, Keokuk 
and Black Hawk, chiefs of the Sac and Fox 
nations. In the visit too, of President An- 
drew Jackson to Philadelphia General Pat- 
terson received him in his fine old mansion, 
and also on that memorable visit of Presi- 
dent James K. Polk was the interior of the 
house ablaze with lights on the occasion of 

26 






Memoirs of the Graham Family 



General Patterson's dinner and ball in honor 
of the president. 

In the long list of illustrious names appears 
that of Joseph Bonaparte, the elder brother 
of Napoleon, who was made King of Spain, 
The beautiful Elizabeth Patterson of Balti- 
more, who married Jerome Bonaparte, King 
of Westphalia, was a kinswoman of General 
Patterson. Some of the old treasures in the 
Patterson family originally belonged to the 
Bonapartes. The marble mantles in the 
mansion were once owned by Joseph Bona- 
parte, while the mirrors in the drawing room 
belonged to Washington before purchased 
by General Patterson. 

The Patterson memoirs describe at length 
the apartments and their massive furniture, 
the chandeliers and mirrors and candelabra. 
The frescoes were done by Uberti and Mar- 
chesi, and the armorial decorations together 
with the statuary were in keeping with the 
general character of the old mansion. 

Mrs. Patterson is mentioned frequently 

27 



r-? 



_./ 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

in these memoirs as a most agreeable hostess, 
a beauty, a musician and a woman of bril- 
liant mental attainments. On one occasion 
she is described as wearing a gown of ruby 
velvet, a turban of black and orange silk over 
which were the feathers of a bird of para- 
dise. 

The position of the youthful Mrs. Patter- 
son was doubtless similar to that of her sister 
at the American embassy. The splendid so- 
cial regime into which she entered in the 
heyday of her beauty was as dazzling as 
any court. When years afterward the old 
mansion became the property of the His- 
torical society Mrs. Patterson retained many 
treasures in the way of portraits and candela- 
bra and porcelains. With her husband, she 
made frequent visits to East Tennessee, and 
it was at the summer home of the Pattersons 
at Russellville that Colonel Patterson passed 
away a few years ago. 

One of the most brilliant of the Graham 
women was Louise, who married Theophilus 

28 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

Rogan. She was the only one of the sisters 
ivho remained in Tennessee, where only a 
few years ago, she celebrated her golden 
wedding anniversary at the quaint country 
seat, "Hayslope," given her by her father 
over half a century ago. It was purchased 
from its founder, Colonel Thomas Roddy, 
who obtained his commission at the battle of 
King's mountain. The old house is one of 
the quaintest in East Tennessee. It is built 
of great logs, hewn by ax, ceiled inside and 
out with heavy oak planks put on endwise 
with nails wrought by hand. The walnut 
shingles were hung onto the flattened poles 
beneath with wooden pegs. A small box 
porch occupied the front of the house, and 
one of the original benches is still there, while 
the old porch in the rear with a half story 
and slooping roof is a perfect example of 
the old houses that sprung up on American 
soil a century and a half ago. 

The old road from Charleston to Lexing- 
ton passed through the Hayslope gardens, 

29 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

following the track of Boone on his way to 
the dark and bloody ground of the Kentucky 
wilderness. The slave quarters were in the 
rear. Colonel Roddy was a devout Baptist, 
and when at meals, he said "grace," the 
kitchen doors were always opened that the 
blessing might reach black as well as white. 
There being no place of worship in the 
neighborhood, he offered his house for the 
purpose, and there in the large living room 
Richard Rice, a colleague of Judson, the 
first missionary to India, addressed a large 
audience. The house had an interesting his- 
tory when Hugh Graham purchased it for 
his daughter, and it was destined to play a 
conspicuous part in war, and in the social 
life of the south. During the Confederate 
war it was occupied alternately by Con- 
federate and Federal troops. General Long- 
street and his corps made "Hayslope" their 
headquarters in the winter of '63 and '64. 
Three soldiers were assigned to the house for 
protection, one acted as nurse, one milked 

30 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

and cut wood, while a third cooked. All 
three were killed at Cold Harbor. 

Major Fairfax granted protection to 
"Hayslope" cows on condition he was to 
receive one gallon of milk daily for his egg- 
nog. The federals having taken all supplies 
of grain and also stock, the milk from the 
cows furnished all the means of living, as it 
could be exchanged with the soldiers for 
bread and meat. The last winter of the 
war it was no unusual sight to see ragged, 
barefooted soldiers huddling together for 
warmth in the big "Hayslope" barn, living 
on a ration of one ear of corn a day which 
was parched and soaked in water. During 
the famous retreat of the federals from Bulls 
Gap the Confederates formed a line of at- 
tack in front of the house and charged on 
Gran Yard Hill. The wounded were 
brought to ''Hayslope and it became a hos- 
pital and a prison. On more than one oc- 
casion rnass was said in the living room by 
Father Ryan, the poet-priest, the candle- 

31 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

sticks holding the tapers having been used 
on Hugh Graham's wedding table. And 
there, where Father Ryan had erected a 
small private chapel, took place a quamt re- 
vival of a wedding feast to which Pope Leo 
XIII sent his blessing. 

The gardens about the old place are still 
unchanged. The clematis covered summer 
houses have fallen to decay only within re- 
cent years. The rose trees, the phlox and 
the altheas are blooming. The morning 
glories are riotous. There is a little garden 
gate through which you enter: there is the 
scent of lavender and rosemary. And into 
this garden have wandered the great ones 
of earth : into its fragrant recesses have come 
the lowly. Soldiers, priests, exiles: a strange 
procession has wound its way outside the 
garden: its gateway has opened to receive 
a pageant: pretty women have idled among 
the drowsing poppies: the garden has wit- 
nessed many loves. 

These memoirs, leaving the memories of 

32 



' , > 



y 




BARONE.5S KAVANAUGH-RAl LYANF. 
(Austriat 



Memoirs of the Graham Family 

old gardens as they bloomed in the Ameri- 
can Wilderness, recall an interesting rom- 
ance, when international marriages were less 
frequent than they are today. The brilliant 
life of the American embassy at Constan- 
tinople where the lovely Lucy Williams, as 
the wife of the American minister, maintain- 
ed social traditions with dignity and grace, 
has been alluded to in preceding pages. 
While the Williams' were abroad, the wed- 
ding of their eldest daughter, Kate, to the 
young Austrian nobleman. Baron Harry 
Kavanaugh-Ballyane, was celebrated with 
great brilliancy. The Baroness became mis- 
tress of a castle in Hungary "Kis Tabor,'* 
which these memoirs describe as one of the 
most interesting castles of Europe, its date 
going back to Roman times. In letters to 
Tennessee relatives Baroness Kavanaugh- 
Ballyane described her private apartments in 
the "Round Tower." She alluded to the 
magnificence of the furnishings, and parti- 
cularly, to the number of silver articles in her 

33 







ISi^v. 









Memoirs of the Graham Familv 

of social activity. The prince and princess 
divided their time between their favored 
cities. The Princess de Liguori embraced 
the CathoHc religion. Her children, with 
the proudest blood of Sicily in their veins, 
were reared with strict etiquette. 

These memoirs allude briefly to the poli- 
tical strifes of Sicily: to its incorporation in- 
to the Italian Kingdom: to the changes af- 
fecting it politically. The princess main- 
tained her position with dignity: to her the 
etiquette inseparable from the royal marriage 
was not one of chance: neither was she fated 
to become entangled with any of the scandals 
of Sicilian political hfe. 

From the pages of the memoirs an at- 
tempt has been made to present the different 
periods of social, political and military ac- 
tivity without disturbing the chain of narra- 
tive. 



35 



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